Device for moving a platform along a facade and building provided with such a device

ABSTRACT

A device for moving a platform at least in vertical direction along a facade ( 1 ) of a building defining a front face by a cable ( 16, 17 ) which extends along the facade, which device comprises a winding apparatus ( 14, 15 ) for the cable, which can be driven by a driving apparatus, and a guide for causing the cable ( 16, 17 ) to extend vertically along the facade on the outer side thereof, wherein an apparatus for moving the guide in such a manner that the guide pass the front face.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a 371 of PCT/NL01/00597, filed Aug. 14, 2001.

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a device for moving a platform at least invertical direction along a facade of a building defining a front face bymeans of a cable which extends along said facade, which device compriseswinding means for said cable, which can be driven by driving means, andguide means for causing the cable to extend vertically along the facadeon the outer side thereof.

Such a device is generally known and is used on relatively highbuildings, such as office buildings, in particular those buildings thathave flat facades and a flat roof. Such devices, which are present ontop of the flat roof of the building in question, are made up of atrolley which moves over a guide, such as a rails, which is mounted onthe flat roof and which extends in horizontal direction parallel to thefacade. A winch for a cable is mounted on the trolley. The cable extendsfrom said winch to a guide, such as a pulley. Said guide is present onthe end of an arm which extends from the trolley on the flat roofinwards of the front face to a position outwards of the frontface, whichenables the cable to extend downwards from said guide on the outer sideof and along the facade. Normally, two such devices are present, wherebythe trolley is used jointly by the two devices. A platform is attachedto the ends of the cables associated with each of the respectivedevices, under said guides, which platform is capable of accommodating aperson for the purpose of said person carrying out work on the facade,in particular work such as the cleaning of windows of the building, fromthe outside thereof. The cables can be wound and unwound by operatingthe two winches, as a result of which the platform is moved verticallyalong the facade. The platform can also be moved in horizontal directionby moving the common trolley along the guide, so that in principle theentire facade area is accessible from the platform. Usually, a safetycable is provided in addition to the aforesaid cables, and possibly alsoan electric cable, which cables extend between the winch and theplatform via the end of the aforesaid arm, like the other cables.

As an aside it is noted that within the framework of the inventioncables can be made of any suitable material, such as steel or a plasticmaterial, for example, whilst the term cable is to be understood toinclude also other kinds of flexible, elongated pulling means, such as achain. The front face is the, in principle unlimited, surface thatcoincides with the outer side of the facade.

The use of the above-described devices according to the prior art imposeconsiderable restrictions on the architectural freedom in designing abuilding, for example because the roof must be at least partially flat.In addition to that, the fact that the device according to the prior artis exposed to view, even when not in use, is considered undesirable foraesthetic reasons, as it mars the visual quality of a building.

The object of the invention is to provide a device according to theintroduction, which on the one hand gives an architect a greater degreeof freedom in the design of a building, whilst on the other hand thedevice is not exposed to the view of the public, or at least to a lesserextent, when it is not in use. This objective is accomplished in thatthe device, according to the invention comprises means for moving theguide means in such a manner that said guide means pass the front face.When said guide means pass the front face, they reach one side of thefront face from the other side of the front face. Movement of the guidemeans to the side of the front face that faces towards the building,which movement is effected by said moving means, makes it possible tohide said guide means from the view of the public, or at least from themembers of the public who are present at ground level. By moving theguide means to the side of the front face that faces away from thebuilding, the entire device can be placed in the operative position andthe cable can be unwound by the unwinding means, so that said cable willextend along the facade, on the outer side thereof. The use of such adevice makes it possible to enhance the architectural quality of thebuilding, whilst the architect will furthermore have greater freedom ofdesign.

A very advantageous embodiment of the device is obtained if said guidemeans are at least partially made up of said winding means. This impliesthat the winding means, which in general can be made up of a winch, canbe moved by said moving means between one side of the front face and theother. The preferred embodiment that is described herein enables a verycompact construction.

The movement of the guide means by the moving means can be realised invarious ways. Think in this connection of an arm being swung out bypivoting it about a horizontal pivot extending parallel to the frontface. A constructionally simple and thus advantageous embodiment is inparticular obtained if the moving means are arranged for translating theguide means substantially in horizontal direction. This can be effectedby means of a rolling or sliding movement, for example.

Preferably, a motor is used for moving the platform, which motor ismounted on said platform and which is suitable for passing the cabletherethrough. Motors of this kind, which are known per se, comprisemeans for engaging the cable and rotation means. In such an embodiment,the cable and the platform are not moved jointly. Initially, the cableis unwound until the lower end thereof is located at the level of aloose platform. This level will generally correspond to the groundlevel. At this level the cable is passed through the motor, whereby thecable is engaged by the engaging means. When the motor, morespecifically the rotation means, are driven, the motor, and consequentlyalso the platform, will move upwards or downwards along the cable. Amajor advantage of the use of such an embodiment is that the windingmeans, or at least the driving means for said winding means, can be ofrelatively light construction, since they only need to be suitable forwinding and unwinding the cable, which is not loaded by a platform.After all, the vertical movement of the platform is effected by themotor, which is mounted on the platform. As a result, the winding meansand the driving means can also be smaller, which is advantageous inconnection with the extent to which they are exposed to view and withthe limited amount of space which such a device takes up, which makes iteasier to incorporate it in the design of a building. An additionaladvantage is the fact that the motor, which is relatively heavily, doesnot form an inherent part of a building and that consequently themanager of the building in question need not be burdened with themaintenance of the motor.

In order to enhance the ease of operation, the device is preferablyprovided with wireless control means for operating the moving meansand/or the driving means by remote control. This can take place from theground level, for example. An additional advantage is that it is notnecessary to walk on the roof, which reduces the risk of damage to theroof in the form of leakage, for example, whilst also safety isenhanced.

The invention furthermore relates to a building comprising a facade anda roof, which building is fitted with a device as described above.

A very advantageous embodiment of such a building, by means of which theadvantages of the device according to the invention can be utilizedoptimally, is characterized in that part of the facade is movable so asto make it possible for the guide means to be moved by the moving means.To this end, the movable part of the facade can for example be tiltedaside in the form of a hatch, or the movable part can be moved jointlywith the guide means. When the guide means are positioned on the innerside of the front face, said guide means can be fully hidden from viewbehind the movable part of the facade.

A constructionally and aesthetically advantageous embodiment is obtainedif the facade of the building is provided with cladding panels, and themovable part of the facade comprises at least one cladding panel. Whenthe guide means occupy a retracted position, they will not mar theappearance of the building.

A very advantageous embodiment of the building in combination with thedevice is obtained if the moving means are at least partiallyincorporated in an upper level floor of the building. Within theframework of this invention, the term upper level floor is understood toinclude the floor of a roof. A major advantage of incorporating saidmoving means at least partially in an upper level floor is that theupper side of the roof does not need to be available for installingwinding means and unwinding means thereon. This allows a greater freedomas regards the shape of the roof, which does not need to be flat, atleast not necessarily so.

According to a preferred embodiment, the moving means comprise pressuremeans for operation between the building and the guide means. Suchpressure means may for example consist of a single-action ordouble-action hydraulic or pneumatic piston/cylinder assembly, whereinthe guide means are mounted on the end of a piston rod.

A constructionally simple embodiment can be realised if said pressuremeans comprise a spring, preferably a compression spring.

Especially if a compression spring is used, which tends to push theguide means to the side of the front face that faces away from thebuilding, it is very advantageous if the moving means comprise anelongated, flexible pulling element, such as a (second) cable, which isconnected to the guide means or to the building, as well as pullingmeans for pulling in the flexible pulling element against the action ofthe pressure means so as to cause the guide means to pass the front facein the direction of the building. Said pulling means could for exampleconsist of a winch that is especially intended for this purpose.

Another advantageous embodiment of the building is characterized by twodevices according to the invention as described above, guides on theroof for said two devices and connecting means for interconnecting thetwo devices, wherein the length of said connecting means is adjustablefor the purpose of adjusting the mutual distance between the twodevices. The adjustable mutual distance makes it possible to moveplatforms of different dimensions, as may be suitable for differentpurposes, vertically along the facade.

The invention will be explained in more detail hereafter in thedescription of two preferred embodiments, wherein reference is made tothe following figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of a slightly alteredversion of said first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the second embodiment; and

FIG. 4 shows a platform as can be used both with the first and with thesecond embodiment.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a facade 1 at the level of the upper side of amulti-storey building. The facade is clad with square cladding panels 2,of which only the extensible cladding panel 9 is shown in FIG. 2. Theside wall, which extends perpendicularly to the facade 1 of thebuilding, is not shown in FIG. 1 for the sake of clarity. This makes itpossible to show the roof construction 3. Above the roof construction 3,facade 1 forms a parapet 4, which is slightly higher in FIG. 2 than inFIG. 1. Roof construction 3 is built up mainly of a concrete floor 5, onwhich an insulating layer 6 is present. As is known by those skilled inthe art, roofing material is present on top of insulating layer 6.Facade 1 defines a front face 7 on its outer side. In the situation asshown in FIG. 1, two cladding panels 8, 9 are each extended by means oftwo telescopic sliding tubes 10 a, 10 b and 11 a, 11 b, respectively.Cladding panels 8, 9 are connected to said tubes by means of U-shapedbrackets 12, 13. Present within U-shaped brackets are winches 14, 15,from which a hoisting cable 16, 17 can be unwound, so that said hoistingcables 16, 17 extend vertically along facade 1. FIG. 2 shows a verticalsection of sliding tube 11, wherein sliding tube 11 b is illustrated inretracted position as well as in extended position (in dotted lines). Inthe case of the extended position, the numerals in question are providedwith an accent mark. A horizontal bore is formed in the concrete floor5, which bore is lined by a tube 18, as it were. Said tube 18 functionsas a guide for sliding tube 11 b. A compression spring 20 is presentbetween the end 22 of the horizontal bore in concrete floor 5 and theend 19 of sliding tube 11 b, under the influence of which spring thesliding tube 11 b tends to slide outwards. Present besides winch 15 is asecond winch (not shown), whose axis of rotation is co-axial with thatof winch 15. A pull cable 21 is wound on said winch, which pull cable iswith its free end connected to the roof construction 3, near the end ofthe horizontal bore that is present therein, via the interior of slidingtube 11 b and compression spring 20. Pull cable 21 prevents sliding tube11 b from being slid outwards together with winch 15 and cladding panel9 under the influence of compression spring 20. When pull cable 21 isunwound from the aforesaid second winch (not shown), sliding tube 11 bwill move outwards, together with the parts connected thereto, thuscreating the situation that is illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 2.From this extended position, hoisting cable 17 can be unwound from winch15. Said hoisting cable 17 can be used together with hoisting cable 16for moving a platform vertically along the facade, from which platformwork can be carried out, such as the cleaning of windows.

Furthermore, a third winch is provided for every winch 14, 15, on whichthird winch a safety cable 23, 24 is wound for safety reasons, andpossibly also a feeder cable for supplying electric power to a platform.Said third winch is likewise co-axial with winches 14, 15.

Although the sliding tubes are mounted within in the roof construction 3in the embodiment that is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is very wellpossible to position said tubes elsewhere, for example directly underthe roof construction 3 or on the roof construction 3. A possibleembodiment of the latter situation is shown in FIG. 3, which shows theoffice building 30 in perspective view from its upper side. On roof 31,parallel to facade 32, two guides 33, 34 are mounted some distanceapart. Two pairs or tubes 35, 36 extending perpendicularly to saidguides can be moved along said guides by moving means (not shown). Thetubes of each pair of tubes 35, 36 are interconnected, whilst preferablyalso the pairs of tubes are interconnected by means of a connectingmember, whose length can be adjustable, so that the distance by whichthe pairs of tubes 35, 36 are spaced apart is likewise adjustable.Sliding tubes 37, 38 are movable in their longitudinal direction withinthe tubes of said pairs of tubes, in such a manner that winches 39, 40,which are mounted on the front end of sliding tubes 37, 38, can be movedbetween a position on the front side of facade 32 to a position on therear side, or the building side, of facade 32. This makes it possible tohide winch 39, 40 from sight in the retracted position, whilst it ispossible to unwind a hoisting cable 41, 42 from winches 39, 40 in theextended position. The movement of the sliding tubes 37, 38 can takeplace in the manner that is illustrated in FIG. 2.

A remote control unit is used for controlling the driving means, forretracting and extending the sliding tubes, as well as for controllingthe various winches, wherein the range of said remote control unit issufficiently large for carrying out said control from ground level.

With regard to the vertical movement of platforms, it is veryadvantageous if a platform as shown in FIG. 4 is used. Mounted on bothends of platform 50 are guides 51, 52 for hoisting cables 53 as well asfor safety cables 54. Present within guides 51, 52 are engaging means55, 56 which are known per se, which engaging means can engage thecables 53 and move with respect to hoisting cables 53 by rotating theirengaging parts. This makes it possible to have platform 50 move upwardsand downwards without attendant vertical movement of hoisting cables 53.It will be apparent that in such an embodiment, wherein the winch onwhich hoisting cable 53 can be wound, can be of lighter constructionthan a winch which must also effect the vertical movement of theplatform. The term hoisting cable is not entirely correct in thisrespect, because the hoisting cable is not directly used for moving theplatform in vertical direction.

The invention is not restricted to the embodiments as described abovewith reference to the drawings, the scope of the invention is defined bythe claims hereinafter. In an alternative embodiment, a situation isconceivable wherein it is not the winch associated with a hoisting cablethat is movable between the inner side and the outer side of a frontface, but a guide, such as a guide wheel for the hoisting cable. Inaddition thereto it is possible within the framework of the invention,for example, to attach the platform in question to the lower end of thehoisting cable. In that case, the winch on which the hoisting cable iswound can be used for moving the platform in vertical direction, withthe hoisting cable and the platform moving jointly. It is emphasizedthat it is possible to use the invention during the construction of abuilding already for carrying out work on the facade, for example thefitting of cladding panels.

1. A building comprising: a facade defining a front face and a roof; andat least one device connected to the building for moving a platform inat least a vertical direction along said front face of the facade,wherein said at least one device comprises: a cable adapted to becoupled to the platform, winding means for winding said cable, drivingmeans for driving the winding means, guide means for guiding the cable,and moving means for moving the guide means from a retracted position toan extended position, wherein in the extended position the guide meansextends outwardly from the front face of the facade and guides the cablevertically along the front face of the facade, and wherein a portion ofthe front face of the facade is movable to allow the guide means to bemoved by the moving means.
 2. The building according to claim 1, whereinthe front face of the facade of the building is provided with claddingpanels, and wherein the movable portion of the front face of the facadecomprises at least one cladding panel.
 3. The building according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein said moving means is at least partiallyincorporated in a floor of the building.
 4. The building according toclaim 1, wherein said moving means comprises pressure means for movingsaid guide means between the retracted and extended positions.
 5. Thebuilding according to claim 4, wherein said pressure means comprises aspring.
 6. The building according to claim 5, wherein said moving meanscomprises an elongated, flexible pulling element, which is connected atone end to either the guide means or to the building, and at another endto pulling means for pulling the flexible pulling element against theaction of the pressure means so as to cause the guide means to movebetween the retracted and extended positions.
 7. The building accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one device comprises two devices, eachmoveably mounted to at least one guide on said roof, and furthercomprising adjustable connecting means connected to each of the twodevices and adjustable in a lengthwise direction for the purpose ofadjusting a distance between the two devices.
 8. The building accordingto claim 1, wherein the at least one device is arranged for operatingthe moving means and the driving means by remote control from a groundlevel of the building.
 9. The building according to claim 1, whereinsaid guide means comprises said winding means.
 10. The buildingaccording to claim 1, wherein said moving means is arranged fortranslating said guide means substantially in a horizontal direction.11. The building according to claim 1, wherein the platform comprisesengaging means, which comprises rotation means, for engaging the cableso as to move the platform along the cable that extends along thefacade.
 12. The building according to claim 11, wherein the at least onedevice is arranged for operating the moving means and the driving meansby remote control from a ground level of the building.
 13. The buildingaccording to claim 12, further comprising wireless control means for theremote control of the moving means and the driving means.
 14. Thebuilding according to claim 1, wherein in the retracted position theguide means is disposed inwardly from the front face of the facade. 15.The building according to claim 14, wherein in the retracted positionthe guide means is not visible from a position exterior to the building.16. The building according to claim 1, wherein said moveable portion ofthe front face of the facade is removably coupled to the building toallow the guide means to be moved by the moving means when the movableportion of the facade is removed from the building.
 17. The buildingaccording to claim 1, wherein said moveable portion of the front face ofthe facade is coupled to and movable with said guide means.